Monthly Archives: <span>June 2018</span>

Agency Finds That Downed Power Lines Sparked Deadly California Fires

A dozen wildfires that burned thousands of homes in California’s wine country and killed at least 15 people last October were started by Pacific Gas & Electric power lines and utility poles, state fire officials said. The California Department of …

Commercial Insurance Prices in U.S. Increase for First Time in 3 Years

Commercial insurance prices in the U.S. increased modestly in the first quarter of 2018, according to leading global advisory, broking and solutions company Willis Towers Watson’s Commercial Lines Insurance Pricing Survey (CLIPS). The survey compared prices charged on policies written …

Harvey’s 5-Day Rainfall in Texas Unprecedented in U.S.

The U.S. has never experienced the amount of rainfall across such a vast area as that brought by Hurricane Harvey when it struck Texas, according to a report released this week. More rain fell over a five-day period, and on …

Minnesota Supreme Court Says Son Can Sue Father Over Hunting Accident

A Minnesota man has taken a lawsuit against his father all the way to the Minnesota Supreme Court. The high court this week clarified a state law on public access for hunting, clearing the way for Corey Ouradnik to sue …

WCRI: Tenn. Workers’ Comp Claim Costs Lower After 2013 Reforms

The average total cost per workers’ compensation claim in Tennessee decreased 6 percent in 2015, reflecting in part the impact of reforms enacted in 2013, according to a recent Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) study. “Most of the 6 percent …

Business News: Pie, Mitchell International, Partner Re

Pie Insurance Launches Workers’ Comp Coverage for Small Businesses in 7 States Pie Insurance announced it has begun selling workers’ compensation insurance policies online, directly to small businesses in Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Texas. Small business owners …

Slowing Hurricanes Cause Concern

Some hurricanes are moving more slowly, spending increased time over land and leading to catastrophic local rainfall and flooding, according to a new study published Wednesday (June 6) in the journal Nature. While hurricanes batter coastal regions with destructive wind …

Marijuana, Opioids Found in High Percentage of Drivers Killed in Car Crashes

More than half of drivers killed in car accidents who were tested for drugs had marijuana, opioids or a combination of the two in their system, according to a new report. The Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) report found that …

Case of the $30,000 Vintage Hollywood Moviola

Long before digital cinematography, computer-generated imagery and other modern motion picture technologies, the mainstay of editors in movie house “cutting rooms” was the Moviola. Originally invented by Iwan Serrurier in 1917 as a home movie projector, the name itself comes …

Giant Hail Hits Dallas Area, Causes Millions in Damages

Baseball-sized hailstones smashed windshields, skylights and windows as thunderstorms swept through the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas, causing millions of damage. The National Weather Service Office in Fort Worth said the storm developed rapidly over Denton and northwest Collin County …